JamesDuchamp

Department:

Chemistry

· 276-944-6183

Biography

A physical chemist by training, Professor Duchamp enjoys working with students and helping them organize the Emory & Henry College chapter of the Student Affiliate of American Chemistry Society. His research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of the American Chemistry Society and Nature. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the Virginia Academy of Sciences. His professional interests include synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials and the use of technology to enhance education. In 2009, Professor Duchamp was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia.

Research & Student Research:

With funding from the Appalachian College Association (ACA), James Earl Copenhaver Professor of Chemistry James C. Duchamp began an ongoing collaboration with researchers at Virginia Tech on the synthesis, characterization and medical applications of endohedral metallofullerenes. Duchamp is most excited about his opportunities to involve students in his research. Working with Kerra Fletcher ’04, a new isomer of the metallofullerene Sc3N@C80 was synthesized and reported in their paper, An isomer of the endohedral metallofullerene Sc3N@C80 with D5h symmetry, published in Chemical Physics Letters. During a summer spent at Virginia Tech, they investigated possible medical applications in a paper in Nanoletters with the title Lutetium-based Trimetallic Nitride Endohedral Metallofullerenes: New Contrast Agents. Duchamp continued his work with chemistry major Anthony Leonard, ’07 investigating the relaxivity of gadolinium endohedral metallofullerenes in collaboration with researchers at Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University. Their paper, In Vitro and In Vivo Imaging Studies of a New Gadolinium Endohedral Metallofullerene MRI Contrast Agent was published in the journal Radiology. His recent work includes the preparation of radioactive endohedral metallofullerenes reported in a paper titled Encapsulation of a Radiolabeled Cluster Inside a Fullerene Cage, 177LuxLu(3−x)N@C80: An Interleukin-13-Conjugated Radiolabeled Metallofullerene Platform in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.